Yang Zaixing

Biography

Family Background and Early Years

Historical sources differ regarding Yang Zaixing's origins and native place. The History of Song, in its biography of Yang, states only that he had been a commander under the rebel Cao Cheng and gives no account of his family or native place. In later sources, Zhao Mengfu of the Yuan dynasty claimed in his colophon to an imperial letter from Emperor Gaozong of Song to Yue Fei that Yang was a son of Yang Bangyi. Yang Bangyi was a native of Jishui, Jiangxi, who was killed in 1129 after refusing to surrender when Jin forces captured Jiankang. This account derives from a Yuan-period retelling and conflicts with the tradition that Yang Zaixing was from Tangyin in Xiangzhou; scholars have therefore generally treated it with caution. Another later tradition makes him a descendant of the famous Yang-family generals of the Northern Song. The Qing novel General Yue Fei even portrays him as a great-great-grandson of Yang Liulang, but this is literary fiction without historical evidence. Claims in another account that he was Miao and that he was born in 1081 likewise lack reliable historical support according to the source text.

Little is known about Yang's early life. By 1131, the first year of the Shaoxing era, he was already serving as a commander under Cao Cheng. Cao then commanded more than one hundred thousand troops, controlled Daozhou and Hezhou in the border region of present-day Hunan and Guangxi, and operated as an independent armed power during the early Southern Song.

Surrender to Yue Fei

In the first lunar month of 1132, the second year of the Shaoxing era, the court appointed Yue Fei acting prefect of Tanzhou and acting pacification commissioner for eastern Jinghu, ordering him to campaign against Cao Cheng. Cao sent troops to defend Moye Pass in present-day Dao County, Hunan. Yue Fei ordered Zhang Xian, commander of the vanguard army, to attack the pass, and Guo Jin was the first to break through. After the pass fell, Han Shunfu, commander of Yue Fei's fifth unit, removed his armor and drank with a woman captured in the fighting, leaving his camp poorly guarded. Yang Zaixing led his men directly against the camp and cut off one of Han's arms; Han later died from the wound. Yang then fought Wang Jing, commander of the grain troops, and Zhang Xian, who came to reinforce the position, and killed Yue Fei's younger brother Yue Fan in the fighting.

Eventually outnumbered and repeatedly defeated, Yang fled south toward Guangxi with cavalry. Zhang Xian pursued him relentlessly. With no escape route, Yang leapt into a deep ravine. Zhang intended to kill him, but Yang asked to be taken alive to Yue Fei and submitted to capture. Yue Fei was impressed by him and spared his life, telling him in substance that he should repay the state with loyalty and righteousness. Yang bowed in thanks and surrendered.

Southern Song sources frequently recount Yue Fei's decision not to execute the man who had killed his own brother, presenting the episode as an example of Yue Fei's willingness to value military talent.

Campaigns in Ji and Qian and the Northern Expedition

In 1133, the third year of the Shaoxing era, the court ordered Yue Fei to suppress the forces of Peng You and Li Man in Jizhou and those of Chen Yong and Luo Xianshi in Qianzhou. Yue Fei separately dispatched Wang Gui and Zhang Xian, who captured Peng You and Li Man, while other detachments destroyed hundreds of mountain strongholds. In the ninth month, Yang Zaixing received an imperial commendation for his service in these operations. The Chronological Record of Important Events since 1127 lists Yang among twenty-four officers promoted after the campaign. His standing within Yue Fei's army rose thereafter.

In 1136, the sixth year of the Shaoxing era, Yue Fei was based at Xiangyang while preparing to recover territory to the north. He dispatched Yang toward Yeyang in Changshui County in the Western Capital region, corresponding to the area of present-day Luoning, Henan. Qi commanders Guo De and Ren Anzhong advanced toward Dengzhou with a force said to number fifty thousand. Yang and Zhang Xian planned a feigned retreat: light troops would engage and then withdraw to lure the enemy forward, after which ambush forces would strike from front and rear. The Qi troops took the bait. In the battle, Song forces killed the Qi officers Sun, a commander, and Man Zai, killed more than five hundred men, captured one hundred officers and soldiers, and routed the remainder.

The next day, Yang fought again at Sunhong Ravine, defeated two thousand enemy troops, recovered Changshui County, seized twenty thousand shi of grain for the soldiers and local population, restored control over strategic positions in the Western Capital region, and captured ten thousand horses along with large stores of fodder and grain left by Qi. Local people in the Central Plains responded in support. Yang later led troops to Caizhou, where he burned Qi grain stores.

The Battle of Yancheng and Death at Xiaoshang Bridge

In 1140, the tenth year of the Shaoxing era, Jin commander Wanyan Zongbi broke the Treaty of Shaoxing and launched a new southern invasion. Yue Fei was ordered to begin a northern campaign. In the seventh month, he sent Li Bao and Sun Yan against Jin forces at Caozhou and then dispatched Yang Zaixing, Niu Gao, and others to reinforce them. A major engagement followed, and the Jin troops withdrew. The Collected Accounts of Treaties with the North under Three Reigns states that two hundred thousand Jin troops were defeated, but the History of Song biography of Yang does not give this figure; the source text therefore treats the number as possibly exaggerated.

Angered by the defeat, Wanyan Zongbi combined the forces of the so-called Dragon-Tiger Prince, Gaitian Prince, Han Chang, and others and advanced on Yancheng, in the area of present-day Luohe, Henan, while stationing troops at Linying. Yue Fei sent his son Yue Yun to meet them. After dozens of rounds of fighting, the Jin force faltered. Yang Zaixing then rode alone into the Jin formation, attempting to seize Wanyan Zongbi. He failed to capture him but reportedly killed several hundred soldiers and returned safely.

After the Battle of Yancheng, Wanyan Zongbi concentrated his forces and returned, stationing what the History of Song describes as one hundred twenty thousand troops at Linying, though other sources give different figures. Yang Zaixing and Li Zhang led three hundred cavalrymen divided into two patrols near Linying. At Xiaoshang Bridge, in present-day Shangqiao Village, Huangdimiao Township, Linying County, they unexpectedly encountered the main Jin army. Yang led the three hundred horsemen into battle and reportedly killed more than two thousand Jin soldiers, including the myriarch Saba Bogen and a hundred chiliarchs. He was eventually overwhelmed by superior numbers and died after being struck by many arrows. When the Jin burned his body, two sheng of arrowheads were reportedly recovered from the remains.

After Yang's death, the Song court posthumously promoted him by seven ranks. His remains were buried beside Xiaoshang Bridge, at the site now known as the Yang Zaixing Cemetery east of Shangqiao Village in Linying County, Henan, locally called the "Tomb of Lord Yang."

Major Activities

Surrender to Yue Fei

In 1132, Yang killed Han Shunfu and Yue Fan during the fighting at Moye Pass. After being defeated and captured, he was pardoned by Yue Fei, who told him to repay the state with loyalty and righteousness. Yang thereafter became a commander in Yue Fei's army. The episode marked a turning point in his life and became a well-known example of Yue Fei's recruitment of capable soldiers.

Suppression of the Ji and Qian Rebellions

In 1133, Yang joined Yue Fei in suppressing the forces of Peng You in Jizhou and Chen Yong in Qianzhou. He received an imperial commendation for his service and was promoted to deputy commander.

Northern Campaign against Qi

In 1136, Yang joined Yue Fei's northern campaign against Qi. At Yeyang, he and Zhang Xian used an ambush to defeat a force reported as fifty thousand strong, killing the officers Sun and Man Zai, more than five hundred soldiers, and capturing one hundred men. The next day at Sunhong Ravine, they defeated two thousand more troops, recovered Changshui County, seized twenty thousand shi of grain and ten thousand horses, and restored strategic points in the Western Capital region. Yang later burned Qi grain stores at Caizhou.

Battle of Yancheng

During the Battle of Yancheng in 1140, Yang rode alone into the Jin formation in an attempt to capture Wanyan Zongbi. Although he failed to seize the Jin commander, he reportedly killed several hundred enemy troops before returning. The battle was one of the most celebrated engagements of Yue Fei's army in the Southern Song war against the Jin.

Battle of Xiaoshang Bridge

In the seventh month of 1140, Yang led three hundred cavalrymen on patrol near Xiaoshang Bridge and encountered the main Jin force. His detachment reportedly killed more than two thousand enemy troops as well as a myriarch and a hundred chiliarchs before Yang was overwhelmed and killed. Two sheng of arrowheads were reportedly recovered after his body was burned. The source presents the engagement as one of the most tragic battles in the Southern Song resistance to the Jin.

His career can be set out by year: in 1131 (first year of Shaoxing) he was a commander under Cao Cheng, who held Daozhou and Hezhou with more than a hundred thousand men and plundered Lingnan; in 1132 (second year) he killed Han Shunfu and Yue Fan at the battle of Moye Pass, was defeated and captured, was released by Yue Fei and submitted; in 1133 (third year) he received an imperial commendation for suppressing the risings at Jizhou and Qianzhou; in 1136 (sixth year) he accompanied Yue Fei's northern campaign against the puppet Qi, recovering Changshui county of the western capital, defeating two thousand of the enemy and taking twenty thousand piculs of grain and ten thousand horses; and in 1140 (tenth year) he supported Li Bao and Sun Yan in defeating the Jin at Caozhou, charged alone into the enemy ranks at Yancheng in an attempt to seize Wanyan Zongbi, and finally died with three hundred cavalry at the battle of Xiaoshang Bridge. His passage from a commander under Cao Cheng to service under Yue Fei, and from subordinate officer to death at Xiaoshang Bridge, is a concrete instance of the movement of officers and the fighting against the Jin in the early Southern Song; his native place and family are not reliably recorded, the two accounts giving Tangyin in Xiangzhou and Jishui in Jiangxi, which the entry sets side by side.

As to the military history of the early Southern Song, his career reflects the composition and mobility of the armies of the time: leaders of bands submitted to and were absorbed by others frequently, and the officers of Cao Cheng's following mostly entered Yue Fei's command after defeat, Yang Zaixing thus becoming one of the notable commanders of the Yue army; his end at Xiaoshang Bridge is connected with the advance and retreat of Yue Fei's northern campaign, showing that in the passage from attack to withdrawal in 1140 the vanguard bore very great risk.

His standing in Yue Fei's army rose from subordinate commander to leadership of the vanguard, and he died in that post.

His death at Xiaoshang Bridge is recorded in the History of Song and in the relevant parts of the Collected Documents from the Years since Jianyan.

The circumstances of his death appear in the Southern Song records and in later biographical accounts.

His fighting at Yancheng and Xiaoshang Bridge belongs to the important actions of the 1140 northern campaign.

Less than ten years passed between his service under Cao Cheng and his entry into Yue Fei's army, and between that and his command of the vanguard; his two achievements in suppressing the risings at Jizhou and Qianzhou and in the campaign against the puppet Qi appear in the edicts of the time and in the histories.

His death cost Yue Fei's army heavily in the vanguard, and the campaign at once passed to the defensive.

That he was captured in 1132 and released by Yue Fei shows that the employment and lenient treatment of officers across armies was common at the time; his repeated promotion for military merit shows that appointments in Yue Fei's army rested chiefly on ability. His death at Xiaoshang Bridge is connected with the turn from advance to defence in the 1140 campaign.

After his death Yue Fei grieved for him and the army was shaken by it.

The accounts differ slightly as to the exact date and the numbers at Xiaoshang Bridge.

His solitary charge at Yancheng is recorded in the attached biography of Yue Fei in the History of Song.

The place of his death, Xiaoshang Bridge, lies in the region of present-day Linying in Henan.

His age at death is unknown, and later ages have honoured his loyalty and daring.

His achievements after submitting are recorded in the History of Song and the Song huiyao.

His early service in the ranks corresponds to the sources of the armies between the Huai and the Yangtze in the early Southern Song.

His capture and release is one instance of Yue Fei's army taking surrendered officers into service.

His achievements in Yue Fei's army are best known from the battles of Yancheng and Xiaoshang Bridge.

At Xiaoshang Bridge his small force fought against odds and was annihilated.

Personal Relations

• Yang Bangyi: traditionally said to have been Yang Zaixing's father. This claim comes from Zhao Mengfu's Yuan-period colophon to an imperial letter from Emperor Gaozong to Yue Fei, but Yang Bangyi was from Jishui, Jiangxi, which conflicts with other traditions concerning Yang Zaixing's native place; scholars generally regard the claim as uncertain.
• Yue Fan: younger brother of Yue Fei; killed by Yang Zaixing at Moye Pass.
• Yue Fei: commander of the Yue Fei Army. After Yang surrendered, he served under Yue Fei and repeatedly distinguished himself. Yue Fei spared Yang despite the death of his own brother.
• Zhao Gou, Emperor Gaozong of Song: Southern Song emperor; the court posthumously promoted Yang by seven ranks after his death.
• Zhang Xian: vanguard commander in Yue Fei's army. He defeated and captured Yang after the fighting at Moye Pass and later served alongside him. In 1136 the two campaigned together against Qi.
• Niu Gao: officer in Yue Fei's army; joined Yang in reinforcing Li Bao and Sun Yan at Caozhou in 1140.
• Li Zhang: joined Yang in leading the three hundred-cavalry patrol during the fighting at Xiaoshang Bridge.
• Cao Cheng: Yang's early commander; defeated by Yue Fei in 1132.
• Wanyan Zongbi: Jin commander. Yang attempted to capture him during the Battle of Yancheng but failed.

Historical Assessment

Song and Contemporary Assessments

• The History of Song places Yang among Yue Fei's notable subordinates and describes them collectively as outstanding men feared by their enemies, while lamenting the violent or unjust ends that befell several of them.
• Zhao Mengfu's Yuan-period colophon to an imperial letter from Emperor Gaozong to Yue Fei attributes to the emperor an account of Yang riding alone into the enemy formation, nearly killing Wanyan Zongbi, suffering many wounds, and still returning after killing numerous opponents. Because the statement is transmitted by Zhao rather than preserved as an original imperial document, its source status is disputed.

Song and Yuan Periods

• Zhao Mengfu, in the same colophon, used Yang Zaixing's deeds as part of a broader lament over peace negotiations and the loss of opportunities for territorial recovery under the Southern Song.

Ming and Qing Periods

• The Qing novel General Yue Fei portrayed Yang as a descendant of the Yang-family generals, a bandit leader at Jiulong Mountain, and later a sworn brother of Yue Fei who died after mistakenly entering the Xiaoshang River and being struck by arrows. These details are literary inventions without historical evidence.
• Local officials in Linying repeatedly restored Yang's cemetery during the Qing. In 1710, Magistrate Shen Jinsi sponsored repairs, and in 1845 Magistrate Wang Huanchen organized donations of twenty mu of land for another reconstruction.

Modern Period

• Modern historians of the Song, including Deng Guangming and Wang Zengyu, have frequently discussed Yang's courage and military achievements in studies of Yue Fei and his army, while treating disputes over his family background and native place cautiously.
• In 1963, the Yang Zaixing Cemetery was designated a provincial-level protected cultural heritage site by the Henan Provincial People's Government.